A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! In case anyone was wondering, no this isn't another filler chapter. This one is pivotal. But it's not the last one. So don't worry!

Mediatorsk: Sorry I've made you blow your nose so much! Hopefully it's not gettting sore:)

Lucy Knight: I'm glad the chapter had such an effect. Usually when you write from what you know, things just come out better.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"I wanna go back to the hospital," Pam protested to Phoebe in their kitchen the next day.

"No, you can't," Phoebe instructed. "You've already missed too many days. You have to go back to school."

"But what if-" Phoebe, knowing what she was going to say, cut her off instantly.

"No buts. Wyatt and Chris are going to school today, and you are too." Pam sighed. "Get your backpack. We'll call you if… anything happens."

…………………………………………

Pam sat in her seat at college, but she wasn't listening to one bit of what her professor was saying. She fidgeted like crazy, desperately wanting the class to be over so she could race back to the hospital. What if her aunt were to die while she was there, just sitting in class? She knew her mother would need someone in a time like that, and Josh was at work. Suddenly, her cell phone rang, making her jump about 10 feet. She took it out and she as read the Caller ID, her stomach did a flip-flop. It was her mom.

"Miss Halliwell, you'll have to turn that off," Professor Taylor said, rolling his eyes.

"I have to take this, I'm sorry. It's really important," Pam answered. "Hello?" she said, answering it.

"She's gotten worse," Phoebe said with difficulty. "Dr. Reynolds thinks it might happen… before the next hour." She could be heard sniffling now. "Mark is getting Wyatt and Chris out of school, so they can s-say goodbye to their mom." This time she'd clearly lost complete control and was sobbing.

"I'll be there right away," Pam said, shoving her books in her satchel. "Just hold on, I'm coming. Bye." She walked briskly towards the door, but her professor blocked the exit.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"I really have to go, I'm sorry, it's a family emergency…"

"Miss Halliwell, you've already taken several sequential days off for a family emergency this week. If you miss any more, I'm afraid I'm going to have to fail you."

"No-"

"Well then sit down. You already have a detention for talking on your cell phone, and I suggest you do nothing that could make it worse than that."

"Look, my aunt is dying! If it was anything less serious, I'd stay. Please, you gotta give me this," Pam begged.

Professor Taylor remained unmoved by the story. "I'm sorry, but that's against the code."

At that moment, something in Pam snapped. "Well then, screw the code!" She shouted angrily. A few people began whispering. "Go ahead and fail me if you want to- no, you know what, I've got a better idea. I quit!" And with that she marched out the door and never looked back.

………………………………………

Pam raced to her car and jumped in.

"That damn professor," she muttered as she started it and pulled out of the parking lot. Her heart was racing. How long had he held her up? Had it already happened? No, she was going to make it. She had to make it. Pam drove as fast as she could through the city.

She was about two blocks from the hospital when she heard the sirens. "Dammit!" she shouted, pulling over. An officer got out of his police car and walked up as she rolled down her window.

"Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" he asked, a stern tone in his voice. He was probably one of the people who wanted to increase the age when people get their drivers' license to after the teen years.

"I know, I know, just listen, I really have to get to the hospital," Pam pleaded.

"Are you dying?" the officer asked.

"No, but-"

"Then I don't see the reason for the rush. You're not gonna die in five minutes if you don't get your HIV test taken."

The anger flared once again in Pam's eyes. That couldn't be any more stereotypical or condescending towards a 19 year-old woman. She knew that no matter what she said, all it could do was get more offenses against her. If only she had the power to freeze…

"Wait, my grandmother had the power to freeze…" she thought.

"I'll need to see your license," the officer said.

"Uh, sure…" Pam said as she turned to get it out of her bag. She was concocting her plan in her head. While turned away from the police man, she muttered under her breath, "Power of Patty Halliwell rise, course unseen across the skies, come to me who calls you near. Come to me and settle here." She grabbed her license. "I hope this works…" she thought as she turned around and waved her hand at the officer. He immediately stopped moving. He didn't even blink. "Oh, thank God," Pam said as she drove away. She knew she was probably going to pay for using personal gain later, but now her main concern was getting to her aunt.

…………………………………………

Pam raced in the hospital doors. The woman at the front desk had seen her so many times by now that she didn't even have to tell her what she was here for. It seemed like Pam had pushed the elevator button about fifty times before the doors actually opened. It couldn't have taken longer to get to ICU. Pam took a deep breath as the doors opened, and she stepped out and closed the door.

"Pam!" a tear-stained Phoebe gasped hysterically as she embraced her daughter. She didn't say anything further, instead she just sobbed into her shoulder. Pam gradually pulled away to get her the box of tissues. She looked at Paige, and her eyes seemed to say, "What's going on?"

Paige took a deep breath. Her facial expression had this odd grim look, like she was about to die. "It only happened about five minutes ago."

With those words, a lump formed in Pam's throat and she whipped around to look at the window that gave her a view of Piper's room. Leo was sitting in a chair by the bed, his hand over his eyes. He was obviously bawling. What happened next seemed to take place in slow motion.

A doctor walked up and draped the bed sheet over Piper's head.

"Oh my God," Pam choked out. "This can't be happening." The tears were already forming in her eyes as the elevator opened again. Everyone turned to see Mark, Wyatt, and Chris walk up to them. Neither Paige nor Phoebe could find the strength to tell them what had just happened.

"Mark," Paige whimpered, walking towards him. He opened his arms as she came nearer and embraced her. Phoebe turned away from her nephews, crying on Pam's shoulder once again.

"Pam, what's going on?" Chris asked warily. Pam instantly felt a sinking feeling in her heart as she realized that it was Chris' 14th birthday today. Just then, Leo shuffled slowly out of the room.

"Dad," Wyatt said as he and his brother walked up to him.

"Wyatt, Chris… you boys better sit down."

"C'mon, let's go over here," Paige advised. Everyone distanced themselves from the mourning family.

Pam shook her head. "I could've been here," she said in disbelief. "I could've been here! If it wasn't for that dumb-ass professor and ignorant cop!"

"What?" Phoebe asked.

Pam's anger was boiling over by now. "Goddammit, I could've been here!" she shouted, slamming her fist into a window. It immediately broke.

"Pam!" Phoebe said, wondering what in the world had gotten into her daughter.

Pam looked at her cut-up hand. "Oh, okay, that didn't feel so good…" her anger was starting to cool down and was quickly being replaced by a stinging pain.

Phoebe sighed disapprovingly. "Okay, well, I'll take you down to the emergency room. Anything to get me away from all these ICU emotions." She walked Pam to the elevator, and as she was about to press the button, Josh walked out with Allie in a stroller. It had taken him longer to get there because he'd had to pick up his daughter from daycare.

"Honey, what's-" he began, but Phoebe cut him off.

"Paige will fill you in. We have to go," she said abruptly. Obviously Phoebe was trying to avoid anything emotional. With that, she and Pam stepped into the elevator and closed the door.

A/N: The reason I decided to write this chapter now is because I'm going away for the weekend, so if anyone finds out where I live and tries to gun me down in a drive-by shooting, I won't be home! I know just about every one of my reviewers is mad at me right now, which is why I hesitated to write this, but I felt obligated. And everything has to happen this way for the sequel to work out the way it does. This isn't the end though, don't worry, there's tons more chapters left. And take comfort knowing that eventually everything will work out and WILL BE FIXED! You all have every right to be angry, but don't hate me for long, please! It's not like I hate Piper or anything, she's actually my favorite character. (Well, besides Pam, but you can't really compare another character to one you've created yourself.)